


A City of Shadows

by TheVioletHour



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: AU, But it’s dark, M/M, Mentions of Blood, nothing graphic, private detective, things get steamy, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:13:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24112597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVioletHour/pseuds/TheVioletHour
Summary: When a string of mysterious disapperances hits the city, Lucas, as the best Private Investigator around, is hired by an old friend to investigate the disappearance of a young woman . He had not anticipated the horrors and mysteries he was about to discover inside the heart of Paris. He was also not ready for the mysterious man that he can't stop meeting everywhere. Because, as he will soon discover, as he follows the darkness, it follows right back.PI Lucas / Vampire Eliott
Relationships: Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant
Comments: 46
Kudos: 54





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone
> 
> This work is deeply personal for me, as it mixes the two genres I love the most " Detective and Horror". I hope I will make it justice and that you will appreciate this strange world you are about to enter. Paris is very different in this fic, it's almost a character in itself. 
> 
> Happy reading ^^

**July 31st, 2.a.m**

Night has fallen on Paris like a smothering blanket, pierced by thousands of little lights. The moon, full and as mysterious as ever, was shining brightly and a long and slender silhouette stopped to contemplate her. On the edge of an old Haussmanian building, he stood, face offered to his favorite night star, ethereal light caressing every feature, highlighting the slight hooked nose, the sharp, Hollywoodian jaw and coloring the usual light brown hair to a pale white. He breathed it in for a minute, trying to organise his thoughts, remembering why he was here tonight. 

He opened his eyes, a striking blue, almost translucent under the moon, and turned them to the street below. 

The night wasn’t so young and only few people remained outside on this warm summer night. 

“My flat’s just a couple of blocks from here.” 

A couple was walking, going east, and the drunken, throaty laugh of a young blond woman reached his ears, a few seconds after her voice had pierced the silence. A man was escorting her, his hand firmly settled on her waist, his sweat reeking of lust. She was staggering against him, and Eliott could smell the hotness of their blood from his perch. He could picture sliding down to meet them, his aura speaking him, matching their desire.Her, eager, right away, him, hesitant but not for long, surrendering to Eliott’s hand on his cheek, letting himself be guided inside the blonde’s appartement. He would follow and join them for a while, just to entertain the more corporal desire of all before getting down to the real feeding for him. 

He could taste the crimson on his lips and the familiar ache inside his jaws started as his fangs slowly appeared.He crouched, ready to move, before catching himself. He blocked his breath for a few seconds, and urged himself to slow the beating of his own heart, forcing himself to focus. His mind cleared and he turned his head the other way, towards the south of the city. 

It wasn’t what he came here for, time was of the essence. There would be time to feed later on, once his mission was completed. His stomach churned uncomfortably as he was reminded of the reason he was standing here tonight. 

“Kill him. End this tonight, once and for all. If you don’t do it, you know I will. And it will be a painful one.” Lucille’s voice floated inside his head, as clear as if she was on the roof with him, the implacable corners of her mouth lifted with scorn. He had to accept, to calm her down, and the entire council with her. In other circumstances, he would have had his reserves of course, but he would have had comply without much remorse, his already tainted conscience already trained to deal with these  _ untimely  _ deaths by his own hands. 

But it was Lucas they were talking about and after everything… After having him, tasting him, getting to know the intricate, fascinating working of this wonderful, out-of-the-ordinary mind… He had to make a choice tonight, the hardest he ever had to face and he will have to face the consequences. He could only hope it would be understood in time, he could only hope Lucas will forgive him. 

The apartment is completely dark when he gets there, moving swiftly among the stony walls, until he reaches down from the roof to the edge of the window.It’s only a light jump, as silently dangerous as a feline’s. 

He looks around but the night is still, as if it was holding its breath. The window is ajar but the panes are covered but the familiar deep red curtains. All the lights are off inside, nothing surprising here, Lucas never leaves them open when he goes to bed. He lets his senses peruse the room, searching for danger or obstacles, searching the man inside. Everything is quiet except for the deep, even respiration he can hear from the bedroom. He focuses on himself then, forcing his mind and body to melt with the shadows outside, to become one with them. He slithers inside, unnoticed, and if someone were to open the light he wouldn’t even see him right away. He has become part of the darkness into which the flat was plunged. The most dangerous part. 

The flat is small and he knows it by heart which makes his progress quick and efficient. The vampire moves through the furniture, past the sofa who has still kept some warmth from Lucas’ body. It was obvious he had spend some time here earlier in the evening. An almost empty glass of whisky is posed on the coffee table in front of it, next to files that had been hastily closed, some papers still visible inside the folders. He heads right to the bedroom, eyeing the rest of the place. Deadly quiet, apart from the faucet dripping intermittently. 

Then again he fuses into the darkness and suddenly, he’s on the other side of the door, cutting through the air like a knife. There, on the bed, is Lucas. The smell is still as strong as the first time, surpassing all others he encountered before. Irresistible. He stalks closer, taking in the view of the handsome young man lying on the bed, asleep. He listens to the deep breaths coming and going, witnesses the rising of the sheet and chest it covers with the same admiration he’s felt from the very first moment. But he was here for a purpose.

So he inches closer, his head levelled with the sleeping man. He can admire it all now, the face he knows by heart, that he’s learned like an artist learns every feature of their muse, a starved passion that can never be quenched, like his own thirst. He leans down towards the young man’s neck where the smell is at its most potent and closes his eyes, trying not to think about what’s to come. He takes a deep breath, and the smell is intoxicating, leaving him heavy-headed, lost in an ocean of senses. His mouth continues its course and, lost in the anticipation, he misses it. A fraction of inattention and it stops him, glueing him into place. 

The cold burn of the silver right about his heart. He freezes and bends his hand to look at what could be causing it and his eyes widened as he deciphers the form of the knife under the blue sheet. The hand holding it doesn’t wavered under his gaze. His eyes snap up slowly as shame and dread make his own blood muddy inside his veins. Lucas’ eyes are cold as ice when he finally meets them. Only the increasing quickness of his breath threatened his cool appearance.

Eliott takes a step back, painfully aware of the tip of his fangs showing under his upper lip, he can see Lucas’ eyes widen as he realizes their presence. Despite that, his hand stands perfectly still and follow his movements. Then he starts to speak in that low baritone voice he had come to adore in the short span of time they’ve spent together, and shame engulfs him.

“I knew it was you. Did you come to finish the job?” Each words are uttered through gritted teeth, reeking of fury and betrayal. 

“Lucas, please, hear me out..”He pleads, knowing full well it would be of no use. The resolve he’s confronted with is made of steel. The hand holding the weapon steady as stones.

“You have 30 seconds before I kill you right here.” Lucas bites out as he’s getting up from the bed, slowly, and his skin seems to vibrate under the ghastly light in the room, with anger and determination.

“Lucas…” He doesn’t have much room to act. Lucas is a good fighter and he won’t let him win easily. He thinks about fleeing but something pulls him back. The heartbeats, erratic and angry, that betray something that the hard lines of his mouth wants him to believe. Something in the way his blood is whispering right now and that only someone like him can translate.

Underneath the determination of the prey who thinks he’s caught his hunter, Lucas  _ feels _ . More than that, he’s  _ hurting _ . Because of them, of what they had. Have. Once Eliott catches onto that, he knows what his next step is. He has no choice. His eyes lock with the younger man and the air suspends between them. 

He pounces. They fall. 


	2. Disappearances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the first chapter, where you will meet our very badass Lucas and some of the important people for this story. Eliott is not named yet but very present if you know where to look. As you can see, we jump back in time, a month before the prologue happens.^^
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. Have a nice reading! 
> 
> And thank you so much for your kudos and comments, they mean a lot to me! <3

**July Ist, 4.52 a.m**

  
  


The cool air smoothes into his lungs as the soles of his running shoes hit the ground with a soothing regularity. The weather has been particularly bad this summer,way hotter than it should have been. It made Lucas’ job more complicated that it usually was, especially the car surveillance where he had to spend long hours waiting to catch this target in the act he had been payed to investigate and prove. 

Eight hours locked in a car without air conditioning has a way of taking a toll on a body. That’s why Lucas loves to run at night,alone in the vast city, when he wasn’t working. The only people he encountered never paid any attention to him, either too drunk or preoccupied with their own thoughts, and that’s how he wanted it. Becoming a shadow has come to be a second nature to him, and that what makes him quote “a damn good PI”. 

He halts at the corner of his street, taking a few seconds to stretch his legs and catch his breath. No one else can be seen in the dark street, barely lit by the orange street lamps scattered along it. The sensation comes back, as strong as always, and he tenses immediately once the goosebumps appear on his neck and arms. 

He turns around swiftly and scans the area with a defiant stare. Someone is watching him, he would bet his hand on it. It’s been months now since this sensation sticks to his skin every time he ventures outside at night. He feels stalked, observed, and he  _ hated _ that. He was the one who blend in and capture, not the other way around. It made no doubt to him that someone was watching him but he couldn’t figure out how and why. The who of the question was not the main part, he had many enemies who would like to keep an eye on him. Especially in this area of town. 

The East side of this neighbourhood was known for its  _ parallel activities _ as the politicians would say, and that why he chose to established himself here. Because only people who really wanted to find him could do so. He didn’t live in the most decrepit street nonetheless, so that clients could still feel safe enough to reach him. But if you wandered off too far… Well you could disappear easily. People seemed to disappear very easily these days. That’s why Lucas’s days and nights were so busy. 

No car, or moving shadows hiding an observer seemed to be out of the ordinary so he resumed his course, walking, this time, as he nears his home. He stops before reaching his flat, as he turns to observe the old building in front of it. It was one of these old city warehouses that were transformed into gorgeous industrial lofts. Lucas was not interested in architecture but he had been surprised to learn that this place was going to be used this way. This was not very common in their area, especially since the people who could afford these places were easy targets here. 

When he learned than someone was gonna live there, he had expected to see police patrol cars often parked at the front, but it never happened, not even once. Something to be rejoiced about, no doubt, but it made him uneasy, as if things more dangerous than the thugs roaming the nearby streets had settled there. There was a strange aura around the house now, darkly pulsing around it, seeping through the walls and tinted windows. But it was also strangely alluring. He took a step closer and stares at the arched windows on the upper level of the building. Nothing could be distinguished through it, even if your nose were pressed on it. The highest quality, installed after the new owner settled in. 

How did Lucas know that? Because he was there when he moved in. He wouldn’t have been extra curious about it normally but the thing was… the moving happened at night. At 3 in the morning to be precise. All the lights in the surrounding flats were off, not a soul in the streets. Only Lucas, who had been pacing in his office for the last hour, the wheels in his brain turning, trying to find a link between the man body found in the river and his client’s missing wife. It had been her lover, he would discover two days later. Shot at the hand of his client’s wife. A nasty business that had taken a week of his time and double that of his energy. 

He had been so caught up that he had missed the soft purr of the truck parking in front of his plat. He had stopped munching of the end of his pen and stalked closer to his window. Aside from the usual business, a small group of movers climbing in and out of the truck, carrying load of heavy looking boxes, nothing could see out of the ordinary except for the unusual schedule. 

So he still couldn’t explain to this day why he chose to turn off the light of his office, plunging it and him in darkness. He had pressed his face against the window, hidden by the horizontal shutters that projected squares of orangish light into the room from the street lamp located right under his window.

Two men were standing there, in the middle of the road, their backs turned to him. One was bald and had skin as black as the night around him, he seemed athletic and could easily passed for a professional sports player, even if he was smartly dressed in a suit of colors. The other one seemed carved in a marble of an ethereal white. His hair was longer and tousled. He was dressed more casually than his companion and the contrast between the two was intriguing. 

Both were tall and he assumed, rather young, but something in their posture seemed off, too rigid, almost statue-like. No movements, a tremor of the leg, shoulder shake, or head moving to talk to the other. Nothing. They looked petrified.

Until, in unison, they turn exactly at the same moment and pace and stare right at him. Not at the building, but at him. He had jumped in surprise, and tumbled backwards, almost falling on the leather chair placed on the client side of his desk. His heart had beat erratically in his chest and he had cursed his reaction, that was too close fear to his taste. he hated being surprised. He had walked towards the window again, instantly, as a challenge, but the men were nowhere to be found anymore. He had stare at the street incredulous, wondering where they could possibly had gone in the span of a few seconds. He had looked around, conscious of how ridiculous he was. He never had the answer, they were nowhere to be seen. As if they were never here in the first place. 

The truck had left but the lights inside the house never were turned on that night, despite its inhabitants. He had stayed up all night, waiting for the two men to appear again but to no avail. 

Ever since this strange moment, Lucas had felt an.. attraction for the place, the air surrounding it seemed thicker, enthralling even. As if an invisible line was pulling him towards it. Especially at night. Sometimes it was so strong he felt his feet carrying him towards it before he has to refrain himself. Like tonight. 

He would probably not knock on the front door if he finally caved in one day. He would go around it and get inside using the back door he knew was on the other side, starting his inspection by the basement and then…

He tears his eyes away from the building and his thoughts, startled by the anticipation he feels at the idea, and starts moving towards his own place. He had a lot of work to do… 

**July 1st, 2.09 pm**

“ Well that didn’t take long” Lucas sighs as he adjusts his camera to snap the picture. The kiss was sloppy and greedy, with grabby hands that begged to stay and possess a little more. The man was slightly overweight with a very clearly receding hairline. He seemed lost in his grey suit that looked too big for his frame, making him look like a disheveled child. The blond in his arms, flashy pink lipstick looked way more ecstatic that she did when they first entered the hotel, fifteen minutes ago. 

“They always go for the secretary, Lucas mutters between his teeth as he captures the last moment before the two lovers separate. “Girl, I don’t know about you but I prefer when they last longer than 10 minutes.” He adds as he watches them go their separate way, him walking over to his deep blue Jaguar parked a street away from the hotel (Lucas had taken a picture of it, for good measures), her walking towards the metro 5, swaying slightly on her high heels. They looked like the typical extramarital affair cliché. Too bad she was the wife of the husband’s cousin though, that was less typical. 

Lucas yawns and straightened his back, sore after staying seated in the same position for the last three hours. After taking a sip of his takeaway coffee, which has been cold five minutes after he parked the car for his stakeout, he hits the dial button of his phone. His client answers right away, she has been expecting him. 

‘I have the pictures you wanted. Do you want to get them or should I bring them to you?” He blocks his cellphone between his shoulder and his ear as he turns the key into the ignition. The voice on the other side answers softly as if she didn’t want to be overheard. 

“I’ll collect them. And I’ll bring your payment too. Did..” she pauses..”Did you have confirmation?”

Lucas presses his lips together as he turns around the corner of the deserted street. Paris in summer is a paradise for drivers, if you forget about tourist buses. 

“Yes, you’ll have everything you need.” He replies curtly, not wanting to enter a lengthy conversation over the phone. The last thing he wanted was to be arrested by the cops by not respecting the law. Again.

His client mumbles a goodbye and he hangs up, vaguely relieved. That part was what he disliked the most, in this job and the last, handling the collateral damages. The fights, the long hours crammed into a tiny place for one picture, the intimidations, he could live with, but seeing people burst into tears as he tells them the news they’ve been dreading, sometimes for years.. Nothing could turn his tongue to ash in his mouth quicker than that.

His hands clench on the wheel as he is reminded of the last time he had to face that. The deeps sobs of Clément’s mother as she hang onto the purse on her knees like a lifeline, the deeps lines of silent sorrow barring her husband’s face, the cruel laugh of Lee Roy, going round and round inside his brain as he lied to them, saying that Clément didn’t suffer. That case had changed everything. 

  
  
  


**July Ist 8.05 pm**

It had meant more clients though, if you looked on the bright side, he thinks darkly, as he parks his car outside his office and jogs up the stairs, hours later. It had been a long day, filled with tracking and client meetings. His mind was fuzzy with tiredness, bu his body feels strangely energized, as if it could feel something important coming. Something unknown. 

He was a little late and his client was already there waiting for him. He shakes his head at Manon to greet her, as he motions his client to follow him. 

The AC is still broken and the small office feels stuffed as they both sat down on opposite side of the desk in an awkward silence. His client is still young, 40 years old, and you could see the quickly fading traces of beauty in the softness of her features and the gentleness of her smile. Her eyes were already shining with unshed tears as he lay down the photos in front of her with deliberate attention. He doesn’t need to point out what could be helpful on those photographs, it is plainly obvious. It’s not the kiss nor the grabbing hands that make the tears fall like delicate rain drops on the mahogany of his desk, but something that sparkles on the mistress’ left hand. 

“This ring is my mother’s ring.. I thought I had lost it.” she whispers in a small, childlike voice. She caresses the picture with trembling hands and fury flames briefly inside Lucas’ stomach before burning down almost immediately. 

“With what you have here, you can get everything. The house, the car, I bet you can get this ring back… You didn’t sign a prenup, he cheated, it’s yours..” He tries to keep his tone flat and factlike. It helps with the clients. 

She whimpers. “I know but..”

“Listen” Lucas cuts her “With that, you can get whatever you want from him, settle it the way that pleases you. This.” He presses the tip of his finger on the photograph in front of her “is the upperhand. For you to use as you like.”

He smiles at her softly, strangely moved by her distress. She reminds him of his mother. The comparison makes his smile disappear. They stay in silence for a few moments as she collects the pictures with trembling fingers. She slides them in her purse and gets an kraft envelope out that she hands out to him with warmer eyes. 

“Thank you.” The words make her tear up again and Lucas feels dirty as he checks the number of bills. 

“You’re welcome Mrs Donovan.” He stands up and she follows suit, with an uninsured swager, gripping the back of the chair. 

“If something was to happen to those pictures, I have doubles here and the negatives, so you don’t have to worry about this.” She nods absentmindedly as they shake hands. She leaves the office without a noise, her footsteps barely heard on the fitted carpet. She stops at the threshold for a second, her hand resting on the wooden pane, as if she could draw some form of strength from it. 

“ You’ve been so kind to me. Never judging me for.. wanting to look inside my husband’s affair.. Everyone said I was crazy, you know..” Her voice wavers and she clears her throat. “People say you are tough and ruthless, and that politeness isn’t your strong suit.” 

Lucas lets out a light laugh. “They’re not wrong about that.” 

Mrs Donovan turns towards him, a new fierceness in her teary green eyes. “I had forgotten what it felt like to be treated with respect. So thank you, I mean it. And if you ever need anything, I’ll be here. Apparently I’m going to have a lot of money now.” 

They exchange a knowing look and she leaves, her steps slightly more assured than when she came in. Lucas’ hearts warms at the idea. His job had its moments of darkness, but knowing that somehow, after swimming thrown the deepest muds of people’s secrets, he could still help someone made it worth it. He didn’t think much of her words though, he was not someone people liked to see again after they were done needing him. That was something he was perfectly at ease with. He would probably never see or hear from her again. 

  
  


**July Ist 9.05 pm**

An hour later, Manon came through the door briskly, with a nervous tremor agitating her hands. 

“Have you seen the news?” She blurts out at Lucas was pinning down some new notes on his cork board near his window. This board was for his personal use only, he usually refrained from using it for his official cases, no one was allowed to looked at it. Mainly because most of the documents pinned there were not supposed to leave the police precinct. 

He doesn’t look up and Manon sighs, exasperated. A strand of auburn hair falls down to frame her face and she chases it away nervously. 

“Lucas.. He escaped. Lee Roy disappeared.” A wave of cold washes over him and dizziness surges inside his mind, making unable to move. 

“What?” Tearing himself away from the cold takes him a few seconds. Manon’s expression must surely mirror his own. The horror in her eyes is unmistakable. She’s not kidding. 

“How did it happen?” He doesn’t recognize his own voice. He sounds strained and .. angry. “Was he being transferred? How come I didn’t know about this?” 

Hugo would have told him, there was no way Hugo wouldn’t have warned him. No way in hell, after everything, he would keep this from him.

“That’s the thing.” he watches Manon’s lips tremble. “It happened last night. He was in his cell and he just .. vanished. This morning when the guards came to open his cell breakfast, he was just .. gone.” 

“Gone?” Lucas scrambles the paper in his hands with fury. The absolute idiots. He had warned them about this.. man. How devious and dangerous he could be. “No one escapes from a locked cell without help!” 

“Lucas, the cameras. They said on the news no one could be seen on the cameras. The guards must check in and out on the prison. No one went anywhere near him. They can’t explain it.” 

“Fuck that.” He throw the paper in his hand across the room. “Prisoners don’t just disappear. He had help. Must have preparing that for weeks.” He shouts and Manon flinches at the sound. The scared, mouse-like move stops him dead in his tracks. He knows what people screaming did to her, after everything that happened with her ex-husband. The guilt seizes him. 

“I’m sorry Manon, I didn’t mean to yell but.. Fuck. They’ve let him out.” He goes over to his desk and lets himself fall onto used up leather chair. “It took everything I had to catch him.” He remembers the smell of blood and powder dominated by the madness of Roy’s laugh. He presses the palms of his hands together to hide the shaking. “I can’t believe it was for nothing.”

Manon walks to him and presses a gentle hair on his shoulder. “It wasn’t for nothing Lu. You went after him because no one would. YOU caught him, everyone knows that, even if it wasn’t your job. The rest wasn’t in your hands, it wasn’t your responsibility. It ISN’T your responsibility actually.”

“I don’t know if I have what it takes to go after him again.” he whispers, more to himself than for her. She presses harder. 

“Then don’t. They messed it up, they can clean after themselves. You’ve done enough.”

In a rare surge of affection, he places his hand on hers and squeezes back, closing his eyes for a moment. An abrupt knock at the door makes them both start with surprise. Manon frowns and trots outside of his office, to their entrance door. He can hear her talking with a man, soft hushes as the stranger seemed to insist on something. The sounds of Manon’s heels on the floor reassures him, it doesn’t sound hurried or nervous. 

“Lucas, there is someone here to see you.” she doesn’t enter his office, her head poking out of his open door. “I know we’re supposed to be closed right now but he says he knows you.” 

It was his turn to frown and he rises up from his seat. He nods slowly and Manon’s head turns to motion the man in. 

“Basile?” Lucas exclaims, shocked as a man around the same age as him slides alongside awkwardly into the room. It had been a while, the features were hardened by maturity but the curly hair and youngful eyes were unmistakable. Basile throws Lucas into a hug which takes him by surprise. 

“Lucas, Oh my God, it’s really you, it’s been so long.” The tone is sincere, overflowing with emotions, the pain straining it, painfully obvious for someone as accustomed to that particular feeling as Lucas’ was. “I’m so happy to see you.” 

“Well, that’s a first, usually people are not.” He replies curtly. Basile laughs awkwardly, before taking a look at their surrounding. 

“So, you work here? This is your office?” 

“Obviously..” He couldn’t help but notice the agitation of Basile’s hands, the way his fingers tremble with nervosity. “There’s my name on the door so..” He tries to joke, remembering the buoyancy of his friend, the puppy like energy of the teenager he used to know. 

Basile smiles at him, a little more sincere, this time. Lucas deciphers the deep lines of worry on his forehead, the redness in his eyes, either by tears or lack of sleep. Probably both, he concludes as the other man looks at the chair in front of him. He gestures for him to sit down and does the same, in front him. Manon goes to grab the notebook and pen she uses to write down clients’ cases and silence falls on all of them. 

Basile’s eyes alternate between Lucas’ face and his desk, gathering his thoughts and Lucas briefly wonders what his friend thinks of him now. How he must appear to him. He knows he didn’t actually change much, beside the hardness that sometimes settles on the corners of his eyes or mouths, the lines of anger and passion that animates his features when he plunges into action and that stay with him afterwards. 

Beside that, he figures he’s still the same, wild chestnut hair that he voluntarily kept untamed, mostly to piss off his father and all the goody-two shoes that formed the population of the small village they both lived in as teenagers. His eyes were still as blue as they were back then. “You eyes are like the ocean my sweet boy” his mother always used to say. “Full of wonderful light and darkness. Promise me that, when the time comes, you’ll embrace them both.” She would add, her voice barely as whisper, and she would always kiss him after that, a waning queen posing her seal on their secrets. 

Basile starts talking, interrupting his thoughts.

“I’m sorry to come unannounced, but I need your help.” He fidgets on his chair, his agitation clearer by the second. “You’re a PI right? People hire you and you find.. things, people?” 

“Yes, I do.” 

“I’m sorry if I sound stupid, we don’t have PI back home..” 

“I know, and you don’t sound stupid, don’t worry. I know my job can be .. nebulous for most people. It’s why it works so well. Because no one really knows what I do.” He smiles humorlessly and his friend stares at him like he was seeing him for the first time. Like he wasn’t sure he liked what he was seeing. 

“Yeah.. well, I’ve come because no one would listen to me..The cops they didn’t.. they say she’s an adult you know, and she had wanted to leave for so long, I…”

“Wow, slow down Baz. Start from the beginning ok? I’m listening.” The use of the nickname seems to work as the young man takes a deep breath. He fiddles inside his vest and gets out a worn photograph that he hands out hesitatingly, almost reluctant to let it go. 

“This is Daphné. She is.. was.. my girlfriend. You remember her, we went to school with her?” He does remember the pretty blond girl that is looking back at him, motionless beauty on glazed paper. She didn’t give Basile the time of the day back then. 

“Yeah I know. Things changed.” The other man’s voice falters, guessing what Lucas was thinking. “After you left, I was alone and she was kind..” 

A tinge of guilt pinches Lucas’ heart but he doesn’t voice it. Now is not the time. 

“We dated for a while. It got serious and eventually, I asked her to marry me and she said yes. I was the first one surprised you know. I always felt like.. this wasn’t the life she wanted deep down. She has always dreamed of Paris. Like you did. So when you left, I think it got her thinking.” 

There was no accusation here, and Lucas would have swept it away in any case. He was responsible for many things but Daphné’s hopes and dreams were not one of them. 

“Three months ago, she made her up her mind, gave me my ring back and she left.” Silence settles in the room again, only interrupted by the deep breaths of the three people inside it. 

“So you want me to find her? To convince her to come back home with you?”

“No Lucas, you don’t get it.” Basile was tearing up fast. He places his forearms on the desk, almost imploringly. Lucas’ stomach churned disagreeably, his sixth sense working fast. He could where this was going.” We stayed in touch, her and I. We talked together everyday. I was all in favor of her living her dream. I was saving money to join her actually, to ask her again. And then nothing. She just vanished.. Everything.. her social medias, her bank account, phone number.. disconnected.”

“Are you sure she didn’t..” 

“No Lucas, the night before she disappeared, she told me she had met incredible new people, that they were going to change her life. She said her dreams were all about to come true. ”

“Did she tell you who she was referring to?” 

Basile shakes his head. 

“No but she said she couldn’t talk about it. That it was forbidden, dangerous even. She sounded so excited but something in it, it scared me. I couldn’t shake off the feeling so when this happened, I wasn’t surprised, I just knew.. I had to come...” They stare at each other from across the desk and Lucas feels a chill slithering down his arms. In the corner of the room, he sees Manon tightening the pen inside her fingers. She knows the city as well as he did. “Another one” her eyes is saying and he knows she’s right. She is latest. They’ve seen this situation a thousand times before. It’s all over his board, summed up in little notes and red strings and pins. He holds his breath as Basile finally utters his reason for coming to him.

“Lucas, I think she’s dead.. I think they killed my Daphné.” 

As he spoke these words, the sun was casting his last rays, helpless harpoons against the rising night. In the building facing this small office, as Lucas took his grieving friend in his arms for comfort, buried in soft red silk, he awakes. Lucas’ smell, carried by the summer breeze, infiltrates through the small cracks of the wooden floor and he inhales it, avidly, hunger flaming inside his throat. He craves it as much as he did the first time he smelled it when he moved in, on that fateful night. He had waited long enough. He will have him tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He is coming. And Lucas is not prepared for what's in store for him.


	3. Night wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for you support, it means the world to me! Now is time for our Eliott to appear, even if, as you probably guessed, he was never far away from our Lucas. 
> 
> Don't hesitate to comment, I love to hear what you think! <3   
> Have a good read

**July 1st, 10.30 pm**

“Well that was … interesting.”Manon whispers as they both watch Basile retreating towards his car. 

“Interesting is one way to put it..” Lucas sighs as he passes an hand through his hair and let it rest there. “You should go home Manon, and take care of your little girl. I kept you here long enough today…” 

She smiles and winks at him. “Don’t worry about Lisa, she’s probably sound asleep in her bed, Emma was with her tonight, you know how they always play together.” 

Lucas lets out an amused bark “Oh yeah, I’ve seen it. So I take that everything’s going well with the two of you?” He had known Emma for a long time and it was the one who introduced them to one another. He had a hunch that they could match, and it had been right. It had been obvious to everyone present that night at the dinner. And they had been inseparable ever since. 

“Sure, as well as can be with our crazy schedules.” he mouths  _ sorry  _ to her and she shrugs. She loves this job and he knows it. He also knows she would never admit how much it meant to her. When he had founder battered to a pulp on his doorstep that night, his unknown neighbour he only knew by the sounds of the beatings she took every night, he knew he had to give her an escape route. He had tried to reach out before, but she had always refused to listen. When he saw the little head poking out of the bundle of fabrics tainted with blood drops, he had understood why. He had motioned her inside, gave her water and went upstairs to where she and the rat lived. The bastard was never seen inside the building again after that night. 

“Did you kill him?” She asked him days later, pointing at this bruised knuckles. 

“Nah, of course not. I just reminded him that I know guys who could do it for me. I have my reputation.” He had chuckled darkly and she hadn’t look afraid. Her eyes lost in thought, she had only whispered. 

“Is it bad if I wish you did?” 

He had pondered his answer for a minute. 

“No, it’s not. Sometime you have to do what is necessary to survive. Mama Bear.” he had shaken his head towards the crib. 

Tears had rolled on her hollow cheeks. 

“I couldn’t protect her.. I wasn’t strong enough.” She had wiped them out angrily. Lucas had thought about all theses women who disappear mysteriously sometimes while their seemingly perfectly nice husbands don’t even bothered to look saddened by the news. 

“But you  _ did _ protect her Manon. You came to get me. You knew I was willing to help and you came to me. You’re smart and you have a good survival instinct. Once you’ve healed, there’s nothing that will stand in your and your daughter’s way. And I would be worried about the people threatening you.” He had nudged her side and she smiled despite her busted lips. The gesture made them bleed again. 

“Threatening  _ us _ .” she had corrected. “I owe you our lives. We’re a family now.” 

For the first time in a long time, Lucas had felt like it was true. Two months later he had taught her how to use a gun perfectly. Four months in, she had perfected all her self-defenses lessons with him and he had too many bruises to count. Five months, he had hired her and they never left each other side. She still lived in the apartment below his. 

“Are you ok?” her voice brings him to the present and the juxtaposition of the memory and the real person shakes him to the core. He nods. 

“I’m just tired. It was a long day.” 

“You should go home Lu. You need to take care of yourself. You’re still healing from..” She touches his side with her hand, where the biggest scar was.

“I’m fine.” he cuts in gently, moving from her touch. “And you know the first 24 hours are crucial in missing person cases. I’m gonna go to the precinct tonight. To talk to Arthur, see what he can dig out.”

“And demand to know how they screw up with Lee Roy, I suppose?” Manon sighs with a tinge of exasperation. “Lucas you need to be careful with..”

“I have no idea what you mean. I won’t demand anything, I’ll just inform them that they are the biggest band of losers from this side of the Atlantic. You know, nothing new..” 

“You’re insufferable I swear” she moans exaggeratedly as she moves towards the door. He laughs as she shuts the door on his goodbye.

  
  


**July 1st . 10.45 pm**

A few moments later he’s outside as well, his black leather jacket tightly wrapped around him. He had decided to walk there to clear his mind after tonight. Finding out that Daphné was missing, joining the ranks of all these cases that had been piling up these last few months. Two, three persons a week at times. Young, attractive people. People were starting to talk, in the lower circles, the ones he navigated easily in. The ones who usually know. They were talking about a serial killer, one like they never had in this city. Someone who could move undetected. And it scared them senseless. That’s why all the people were on Lucas’ board upstairs where he studied them from afar. He had even though at one point that Lee Roy could be doing this only to be proven wrong by the consequences of that monster’s real actions. It’s not a term he used lightly, this one. Monster. Actually he only ever used it twice : for Lee Roy of course, and for his father. 

Trying to chase his somber thoughts, he starts walking. Unbeknownst to him, the night follows. 

  
  
  
  


**July 1st . 11 p.m**

He reaches it far quicker than he usually would. Something seems to make him walk faster tonight. He feels shivers running down his spine and fists his hands inside the pockets of his jacket to gain some warmth. He standing in front of the police station now, and the feeling of being watched is as strong as ever. Like each time he’s walking alone at night these days. He looks around but as usual, he cannot detect anything suspicious. Except.. something doesn’t feel right with the sky’s colour tonight. It looks.. red. No better word can come to his mind. The deep blue of the night sky is veiled by reddish hues. Like a lover draped in burgundy velvet. He shrugs, mentally chastising his wandering mind. He needs to keep his wits sharp. Especially here. 

The station is quiet and looks almost deserted. He nods at the agents stationed at the entrance and at the one responsible for the reception. They all knew him. Some also had probably guessed why he was here tonight. 

Barely visible behind the dividers of the bullpen, the detectives paid no attention to him, except a few of heads that turned as he walks across the room decidedly, towards one of the desks situation in the far right corner, next to the water fountain. 

A shadow passes on Arthur’s face as he sees him approach. Lucas stops a few meters from him, mostly out of respect rather than politeness. The other man gestures for him to sit down. He stays up. 

“Hey Lucas, everything’s alright?” Arthur talks a bit louder than necessary. That usually meant that someone was listening, or that they weren’t free to talk. 

“Sure, You forgot your smoke last night at the bar. I’ve brought them.” He winks and a genuine smile appears on Arthur’s tired face. Lucas notices the bags under his eyes, underlines by the brown rim of his glasses. He looked exhausted. 

“Just in time, I’m on my break. Let’s go outside.” 

The blond gets up and picks the jacket disheveled on his chair. He heads straight for the door situation not far from his desk, on the opposite wall facing the entrance. It lead to a small paved yard, hidden from the street. It was mostly dark at this time of night, only lit by floodlights on the wall. It used to be his favorite place when he was working there. 

“I actually have your cigarettes you know.” He turns to Arthur who was leaning against the wall, already lighting one. “You left them beside my bed last time.” He raises an eyebrow and smirks at the slight embarrassment burning on the other man features. 

“Do you have them here?” Arthur exhales smoke slowly, his voice distant like he was miles from here. 

“Nope. But I have another missing girl.” Lucas moves closer, aiming for nonchalance. “Same profile as the others. The boyfriend went to the police but they refused to take the case because..”

“Because she’s an adult and her disappearance doesn’t look suspicious.” They finish their sentence at the same time and share a brief, sad smile. They’ve been playing this sad tune for months now. 

“They never fucking do.” Arthur maugreates, playing with the grovel under his feet. 

“Could you take a look for me? Lucas stalks closer, very conscious of how is presence was affected the older man. He lowers his voice, make it more seductive. “Tell me what you can find about her? “Her phone and internet records? You’ll have access more easily than me. I’ll search her flat, her boyfriend has the key, tell you what I can find.” He settles next to him on the warm wall, their elbows barely touching.

“I had a long day, I’m gonna rest a little before I start working on this case though. It’s for a.. friend. I need my head clear”

“What type of friends?” Arthur asks, aiming for detached and failing. 

“An old one. From high school.” He pauses. “ I actually know her this time.” Arthur glances at him, surprised. “I’m not tiptoeing around this anymore Art, now that I got in. It’s time to know what this is all about, what happens to these people. It’s gone personal.” 

“Yeah I’ll do it. I know you’ve been saying that these missing persons cases are linked since the beginning. I believe you, always have. Send me everything on my personal phone, I’ll check it out, send you what I find right away. And tomorrow, tell me when you need to enter into her place. So that I can divert attention.” They exchange a knowing look. They were both aware it might come to that. 

“Thanks Art. I’ll pay you back.”

“Do you still confiscate weed to the dealers of your streets even if you’re not authorized to that?” Lucas bursts out laughing and the sound surprises him. He must be more tired than he thought. 

“Yeah I still do that. When I have to. Save you a bag?” 

“You know it.” His friend nods with enthusiasm. “That’ll be payment enough.” 

Silence settles comfortably between them as they both look at their surroundings. By day you could perceived the old brick buildings, dating back decades before the police station was built. Tonight you couldn’t even perceived to end of the yard and the outlines of these buildings. 

“This night feels weird.” whispers Arthur next to him. He was right, the darkness around them seemed to tighten, as if all the particles of air were becoming solid and started to stick together. The night felt.. solid. Something starts to move in Lucas’s stomach, a shiver that roams inside his belly only to move inside his arms and legs, making him itching for something, feeling restless. He had wanted to talk about Lee Roy but something inside was urging him to keep moving. 

“Everyone’s on edge because of… you know.” Arthur exhales the smoke of his cigarette slowly and the smell invades Lucas’ space, taking him back to other times and places. He had always loved that smell, it made him feel safe, even he had stopped a while back. He knows better than to interrupt his friend now. 

“I assume you came here to talk about it. I’m sorry to disappoint, but ..” he lowers his voice and glances back at the door, nervosity contracting his jaw “ They told us nothing, they absolutely refuse to discuss the subject. What we know, we learnt it because we know people, colleagues inside the prison. I thought the people upstairs were hiding it at first. But then, I heard something.” His voice is so low that Lucas has to lean against him, their cheeks almost touching. “Between Ingrid and the Director of Fresnes Prison. They actually don’t know what happen. They can’t fucking explain it.”

Lucas stares right ahead, disbelieving. He had come fully prepared to drag them for their lack of professionalism but he had not expect that. 

“What do you mean they don’t know? It happened right before their eyes!” 

“Precisely Lucas. You see, he didn’t run away, there are not guards who were bribed, secrets tunnels dug with a spoon or something like that. He didn’t hide at the back of a truck carrying laundry either like in a comic book. He was in his cell, and then he was not. There was a camera you see outside his room, like there is for all high security prisoners. Apparently his cell door never opened that night, at any moment. He never left. When the guard came to his room during his round, he had just vanished.”

Lucas can’t stop the incredulity showing on his face. This has to be the stupidest story he has ever heard. 

“Oh come on, the camera must have been tampered with. It has to be someone from the inside.” 

Arthur shakes his head. “That what I heard Ingrid say over the phone. They’ve sent our experts to collect the tapes and analyze them here. As for the inside help.. Lee Roy had been sick prior to his.. disappearance. Didn’t leave his cell for days nor talk to anyone. And every guard were busy elsewhere and can, supposedly justify it.” He shrugs and gently put out his cigarette inside the ashtray. “No one knows Lucas. Not even the people inside.” 

Lucas feels anger flares inside him and tries to reign it in. He doesn’t want to lash out on Arthur, it’s not his fault. But his friend has no idea who was the man that has _ “just vanished” _ , he hadn’t been there. There is a lightness in his tone that resounds sourly with the memory of Lee Roy’s blade breaching his flesh. He still feel the burns of the wounds when he moves like ashes waiting for the slightest mistake to be awaken again and breathe their small fires under his skin again. Sometimes, like tonight, he doesn’t even need to move to feel them. 

Arthur doesn’t know how to interpret his silence, so he continues, unaware.

“But I’m sure they’ll catch him you know. So many people are looking for him. They’re always caught in the end. Especially since he was so sick before that, he could barely move and…”

“I need to go.” That’s not what he had planned to say but the air around him become solid again, a constant pressure on his shoulder, bringing him towards the floor. He’s suffocating. 

“Lucas…” Arthur raises a hand to touch him but he steps away. 

“Just keep me posted ok? I’ve got to get back to work.” The other man nods, looking slightly dejected but he doesn’t move to hold him back. Lucas bolts back inside, and as he crosses the room, realizes how cold he felt. He feels certain pairs of disdainful eyes staring, but he couldn’t be bothered with it now. He just needs to leave. 

He rushes out of the station, only to disappear inside the nearest alley, almost invisible in the dark. He presses his back against the cold brick wall, and tries to even his breathing, like Manon taught him.  _ Deep breaths okay? Concentrate, feel the air enter your lungs, feel it move around you. Imagine a big circle around of light your body, protecting you. Nothing can happen there.  _ He had laughed at her a little but indulged her nonetheless. She had needed the reassurance more than him.

He closes his eyes and tries to imitate her. Something seems to change around him, a change of pressure in the air as it does just before the first lightning of a storm. The air feels solid again, like it did back at yard with Arthur, taking shape. As if something was being born of these small particles. A tornado perhaps. No, not a tornado. Something soft and alluring, caressing his face in a light breeze. Moving from his closed eyelids to the tip of his nose, to his lips. It stays there and he feels a light pressure on the soft flesh. His eyes open as a reflex. The darkness stares back at him, he’s alone. 

The strangeness of his thoughts almost makes him blush and he shakes his head to chase them away. He feels calmer though and it surprises him because Manon’s exercices never worked before. 

He should go home now, start working but his legs feel reckless again, he wants to tire himself out first. And he knows exactly where to go. He gets out of the alley and turns to the opposite direction. 

Back in the alley, the darkness smiles. 

  
  
  
  


**July 2nd. Midnight**

The  _ Brams _ was one of the oldest pub in this part of town, its facades made of wood and black marble making it easy to miss in this badly lit street. Its main entrance on Rue Lecourbe was usually pretty busy with people smoking with their beers in hand and tonight made no exception. Lucas navigates thrown the smoky air, nodding at a few acquaintances and steps inside, trying to be as discreet as he could be. He takes a look around the busy bar , feeling like he’s being watched again. No one was looking at him however, so he keeps walking until he reached the bar. 

Sam was working tonight, and he gives him a heated look behind the dark strands of hair falling on his face. Lucas ponders for a second, wondering he feels like letting Sam guiding him in the back room, like he likes to do sometimes, when he wants something quick and easy to ease his mind. Tonight is not one of these nights however and he, almost imperceptibly, shakes his head no. The bartender shrugs and resumes wiping clean newly washed glasses, unbothered. That’s how it works between them. Lucas settles on one of the green leather stool with a sigh, and closes his eyes for a second, letting the hushing of the clients’ voice fade into the background. Suddenly he feels a slight breeze caress his back slowly, like in the alley moments earlier, the ghost sensation of a hand running up and down his back. The voice reaches him then, low and honeylike. 

“Penny for your thoughts?”

He startles and his eyes open instantly, as he tenses after the intrusion.

He’s meet with the bluest eyes he has even encounters, sharp as ice,and so deep Lucas feels like standing on the edge of a cliff batted by the sea, alluring and dangerous. Like he could fall at any moment. The lips are thin but seductive in their curves, a deep red colour under the lights of the bar. The man’s hair are as shaggy and disheveled as his own, like he’s been running his hand through them repeatedly out of nervousness. Which doesn’t match the impression of predatory confidence that oozes from him in crushing waves. He’s tall, way taller than him and the idea makes a shiver run down on his arms. The stranger is staring at him, something daring in his gaze, and Lucas feels a invisible pull shoving him inside the stranger’s vicinity, like someone invisible was tugging him forward. 

But he’s not the kind of man to be dominated by naked feelings. He can’t afford it. He places his usual sharp smirk on his lips, the one that irritates or swoop at will. 

“A penny seems very cheap to give you access to that.” He replies, eyeing the man very deliberately. The handsome stranger laughs at that, and the sound creates ripples under his skin. Dangerous one. 

“A drink then? On me?” 

Lucas scoffs, partly to hide the flush that starts to bloom on his body. He’s quite happy the beautiful stranger can’t read minds. He is usually exceptionally good at hiding his thoughts but something about that man makes it harder than it should be. He turns towards Sam who was listening in on them, while pretending to wipe the counter near them. 

“Sam. The usual please. And get that gentleman here whatever he wants.” 

He turns towards the stranger, a smug smile on his lips. 

“I’m not the type of man that accepts free drinks. I get my own then generally after I had three, I pick a guy to blow in the back alley. Not a romantic.” A silly provocation laced in truth to be left alone. One of his numerous defence mechanisms. For the first time however, he finds himself regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. 

The man raises a perfect shape eyebrow at his gibe, completely unphased, as a glint of amusement shined in his eyes. He turns to Sam in an elegant movement, fluid as a snake. 

“A glass of wine,  _ Sam,  _ if you don’t mind.” Something strange flashed on his face as he pronounces the bartender’s name. Almost like a warning. “Red.”

“ _ Wine?”  _ Lucas exclaims louder than he intended, drawing attention for a second before people realized nothing of interest was going on here. Or so they thought. “ _ Here?  _

“I only drink wine.” The man smiles as if he made a joke that he was the only one to understand and Lucas feels like he’s missing something, like he heard it before. 

“Well sure, but it’s not really the place to do that. But, hey suit yourself. Wouldn’t bet on the quality though. What?” he shoots a teasing look at Sam’ angry huff at his words. “It’s not a high class bar Sam. Wine is not its specialty.” His voice takes a sultry tone and he could easily see the pink coloring the bartender’s cheeks. He feels eyes burning a hole on the side of his head but he keeps on staring in front of him as he can hear their drinks being prepared. When they’re finally in front of him, the dark burgundy clashing with the amber of his whisky, he reaches for his pocket but the other man is quicker than him. An arm brushes against his own, elusive as a ghost but electrifying all the same. Way more than it should be. He glances up but he’s the one being ignored now. 

He focuses his attention on the long, slender fingers and the bill folded between the index and the middle one. 

“Wow, that’s way more than..” 

“Like I said, the drinks are on me.” The man whispers in his ear and Lucas startles at the sudden proximity of the stranger’s face to his own. He didn’t feel him move and sneaking on him was an exploit not a lot of people had accomplished. He was always on hypervigilance, ready to bounce or slither away as fast as he can when the situations turn dangerous. And in his line of jobs, they almost always did. But he never felt him lean in. 

He clears his throat to chase his uneasiness as the man’s perfume hit his nostrils. An effluvium of jasmine and sandalwood, mixed with something darker, earthly. He briefly wonders if the taste of his skin would feel the same under his tongue and it’s his turn to blush. Another thing that rarely ever happens. The stranger seems to pick up his thoughts however and his smile takes a seductive curve, eyes gleaming. Lucas glances away.

“It’s a lot of money for just one glass don’t you think?” 

A chuckle answers him. “Well, it’s for both of us. You’ll pay the next round.” he insists as Lucas opens his mouth to contradict him. 

“What makes you think there will be a next round?”

The man takes a sip of the red liquid, his lips taking on a reddish taint, which underlines the whiteness of his teeth when he speaks again. 

“Because you look thirsty.” 

  
  


Lucas’ hand tightens around his glass as he tries to keep a straight face. He thinks of something equally witty and flirty to retort but he refrains from doing so. He feels himself getting caught in the stranger’s pull and everything in him arches against it. It”s not in his nature to get caught. Never again. 

“I’m just telling you to be careful. Guys with money don’t last long here.” He resumes, ignoring the previous remark, lifting his drink to his lips.

The man’s eyes flicker with something that could look like disappointment but he doesn’t comment on the change of tone.

“Do not worry, I am very capable of handling my own.” His face darkens as if shadows had settled there, moving alongside the slightest movement of his jaws, eyes and lips.

“Plus I have you to protect me, don’t I? I’m sure you’re not the type to let an innocent being robbed without doing anything.”

Lucas turns to him briskly, feeling unmasked, as if this man saw right through him. 

“You don’t know me.” He replies sharply before getting up and walking away, to the far end of the bar, where the tables were. He doesn’t look back to know the stranger was following him. Suddenly, something cold grabs his forearm, halting his course. He turns around only to face him once again. Their height difference strikes him even harder now than they’re both standing. He shoots him a surprised look when he realizes the cold actually comes from the man’s hand. How could he so cold, it felt like a thousand degrees in here. 

“I’m sorry.” the man whispers, regret clear on his face and Lucas’ determination wavers. He overreacted, he knows that, but every barrier was firmly set up. 

“It’s fine.” he aims for nonchalance but the man doesn’t seem convinced, his eyebrows furrowed in what could be remorse. “Really.”

He resumes his crossing of the room, ending in the small area reserved for dining. It never serves that purpose, being mostly used for transactions that were rarely legal. Lucas should know, he had been involved in some of them. 

The room is entirely decorated with dark wood panels and emerald green wallpapers decorated with delicate Victorian patterns. No overhead lamps but only smaller ones on the tables, alongside tealight candles in red glasses. It could pass as quaint and almost romantic, if you didn’t know why the room was so dimly lit. 

Lucas settled for the table on the left, one booth among the others, nothing striking out of it. He’s alone. Or so he thought, for the stranger slides into the booth opposing his own uninvited, in one fluid movement. 

“You seem to like this table, you went straight for it.” The stranger comments cheerfully, putting his glass down on the table. 

“It’s because it’s mine.” 

“Oh really.” The teasing tone is back. “Is there your name on it?” 

“Actually yes.” He points out at the little bronze plate on the wall above them. “L.L” He smiles at the other’s surprise expression. “I did the owner a favor. I have my own table. Comes in handy too.” 

“So L is for….” Of course, he would be more interested to find out his name than why he had his name of a plate in a shady bar. 

“Well my name obviously.” Two could play that game after all. 

“Which you are not gonna tell me apparently..” The stranger doesn’t look bothered really. He looks … happy. Like the cat who got his eyes on a very interesting mouse. 

“Apparently not.” 

“So what did you do to earn this? Save a man from purchasing wine?” 

They both laugh and something shifts in Lucas, a wall starts to descend in his mind, just a little. 

“Nothing as heroic.Let’s just say, this bar was under some people’s territory. The nasty kind. They intended to make it their playground/headquarters… Easy cash to grind and women to .. you know. So the owner called me and we settled things. This ..” he gestures at the plate. “ is just a thank you note. For support.” 

The pupils staring at him seem to darken, as if he had realized something.

“People bled here.”

Lucas huffs in response, slightly unsettled.

“Everyone bled here. Myself included. None other than last week. Someone who was a bit too handsy. But it’s a better place now that it used to be.”

“Thanks to you.” 

Lucas shrugs, cursing the blush that creeps on his cheek, unexpected and unwelcome. Not byt the other man who seems to revel in it, his eyes soft and warm. The PI shivers as he realizes how close their hands are on the table. 

“Maybe.. a very small contribution,”

Silence dawns on them as they sip their drinks, eyes never leaving each other. On the table, their fingers touch. 

“So what do you do? When you’re not fighting bad guys in bars?” 

“Can you guess?” Lucas wiggles his eyebrows at the man and leans on the table as a challenge. The other doesn’t back down, and imitates him. His scent hits Lucas again, urging him a little closer until he mentally refrains himself. 

The stranger takes one of his hands in his, examining his palm, slightly pressing the pulp of his fingertips with his index, gentle as a feather’s touch. Warmth spread upwards and Lucas bites the inside of his cheeks so hard he could almost draw blood. The man snaps his head back up, his pupils wide and black before straightening up, looking flustered. 

“You have a working man’ fingers. A little rough around the edges.” His smile looks like a secret and Lucas wants to ask but he doesn’t have the time to do so as the man goes on. “And you have very small ink splatters on your index and middle fingers.” Lucas looks down at them surprised. In the almost obscurity of the bar, he’s unable to see them. “So I’m thinking something to do with photography.” 

Lucas gulps and rushed to take another sip of his drink to keep his countenance. He’s definitely not used to being seen like this. He pushes back against the leather seat, to put space between him and the tantalizing stranger. 

“Something like that.” He keeps his eyes on the table. Something inside him urges him to carry on. He complies. “Photography is important in what I do. I use it to immortalize the darkness in people’s souls I guess. Capturing it on glazed paper for the world to see. And I turn darkness into a weapon.” He remembers Clément parents’ distraught faces and Mrs Donovan’s tears. He remembers Lee Roy’s monstrosity he had thrown on Ingrid’s desk that day.  _ You have your fucking proof, now fucking arrest him.  _ “It doesn’t make me a better person, far from it. But I accept that, as long as innocent people can benefit from it.” 

“You don’t sound very proud of yourself.” The man muses, staring at him like he was the most interesting person in the world. 

“It’s not very respectable, what I do sometimes. The way I get things. People usually hate me, even if I get what they want. But someone has to do it. I’d rather it be me.”

He finishes his drink in one last gulp and the air around them is muffled and quiet, the roaring of the bar long forgotten behind them. Alone in the world. 

“So what magazine are you a paparazzi for?” He looks up at the man’s teasing face and they both laugh, dissolving the tension that had begun to creep on them. 

“Wrong answer, sorry.” His companion raises in hands in mock defense. 

“So, are you gonna tell me what you do?” He asks after a few seconds. 

The man smiles mysteriously. 

“I’m not going to tell you, you’ll have to find out. Something tells me you’re good at that.” He bores his eyes into Lucas’ and he feels his pulse quickens. This man is way too attractive for his own good. It feels magnetic the pull that link him to his new acquaintance, too strong to resist. He feels too tired to anyway. 

“I will, make no mistake about that.” 

He goes to raise his drink, momentarily forgetting he had already finished that. He puts him back on the table, vaguely disappointed. 

“You still owe me a drink.” The teasing is gone, replaced by something darker and far more sensual. 

“The place is gonna close down any minute now. Even for me.”

“Good.” A long leg sneaks up inside Lucas’ ones, barely touching but it makes him jump nonetheless. “I wasn’t thinking of taking it here.” 

“What makes you think I’m gonna invite you inside my apartment?” Lucas replies, his tongue dry inside his mouth, slowly turned on, as the man’s leg moves up and down slowly between his own, carefully, a few centimeters up before going back again. 

A crooked smile answers him, full of dark promises. “Are you saying no?” 

He ponders what to do for a few seconds. He usually never invite anyone back to his place but something about this man…makes him want to throw all of his rules out the window.. 

“Let’s go.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inviting a vampire to your appartment might not be the best idea Lu...
> 
> Thank you for reading! :)


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